Finding Her
by AgentGilmore
Summary: After Sydeny dissapears, Vaughn must get to know their son; Chapter 10 is up-pure fluff! *~*Complete*~*
1. William

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Hey everyone, this is my first Alias fic.I'm not quite sure how its gonna be, so please forgive me if it really sucks! I was writing Gilmore Girls fics, but no1 was reading them cuz they weren't Rory/Jess fics.oops haha anyway, please read and review, this is just the prologue so it is kind of stupid  
  
Chapter 1 *****  
  
Emma Bishop sat outside on the sunny September day, looking down at the pile of homework on her lap *Maybe senior year is gonna be more than just parties and prom* she thought as she looked for something to help her procrastinate  
  
"Emma, Emma, look!" a little boy yelled from several feet away  
  
"Sure Will, anything to distract me from trig homework" she replied giving her full attention to the 4 year old boy dribbling a basketball near her  
  
"I can dunk!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran towards the basketball hoop that had been lowered so he could reach it  
  
"Shh, you are going to annoy the neighbors, and then they will get mad, and tell you mom, and then she'll get mad and kill me" Emma joked  
  
"Mommy would never do that" the little boy assured her "she's never mean and never mad and she would never ever kill anybody"  
  
"Hey, I was kidding little man" Emma said as she returned to her homework perch on the bench right outside the entrance to the apartment-close enough so that she could keep and eye on Will and hear the phone if it rang. Little did William know that at one point in her life, his mother hadn't even hesitated to kill anyone who got in her way.  
  
"MOM!!" Will yelled as he rushed up to the big blue Jeep that pulled into the parking place right in front of their apartment  
  
"Hey sweetie" Sydney said, scooping up the little boy and ruffling his sandy blonde hair which was gradually getting darker as the seasons changed "Were you good for Emma?" she asked as she pulled her bags out of the back seat  
  
"Yeah, we played bassetball" he said proudly  
  
"BasKetball" Sydney corrected "Sorry I was late Emma, I should be able to get off early tomorrow to make up for it"  
  
"That's fine Syd, it helped me procrastinate, see ya tomorrow William" she said as she got into her car and drove away "How was you day critter?" Sydney asked, smiling because she knew her son hated that pet name she had for him  
  
"It was good, I made cookies at school" Will replied as he followed his mom into their nice, but modest apartment  
  
Sydney dumped all of her things on a chair in the kitchen and collapsed onto the couch. She peered around their little home, smiling at the thought of it. *It was so.Normal. Her son's toys were thrown everywhere, a basketball still bounced along the kitchen floor from where he had dropped it as he rushed into his room, a miniature hockey stick leaning in the corner, a box of legos under the kitchen table. This was the life she had always wanted, maybe it was messy, and not nearly as exciting as her former life, but it was perfect...well almost, if only.* Sydney stopped herself before she even thought about it, about him  
  
"Mommy, look" Will said as he came barreling out of his room, and holding out a plate of cookies "I made them all by myself" Sydney looked up at her son and smiled, he was such a happy kid, his bright eyes were always shining and happy *thank god he doesn't know about my past* she thought, terrified that him knowing even a tiny thing could ruin their "perfect" like  
  
"Oh those look good sweetie, how about we have them for dessert tonight?" Sydney complimented her son "Guess what?"  
  
"What?" William asked  
  
"Grandpa's coming over for dinner tomorrow night"  
  
"Really? But grandpa doesn't like coming over here" the little boy said, getting a concerned look on his face  
  
"Oh, that's not true, he's just really busy with work so he doesn't get to spend as much time with you as he wishes he could" Sydney lied, knowing the real reason he never came was he was angry at her, for what she had done to him and what she had done to Vaughn. But she also knew that Jack didn't want to be absent for most of his grandson's life, as he was his daughter's. ~~~ Several hours later, Sydney crept into her son's room where he lay asleep. As she did every night, she gently sat down on the edge of his bed and kissed his forehead softly "I love you critter" she said quietly "and so does your daddy" she added giving him another kiss on the forehead before going back to the kitchen to finish grading papers *****  
  
A/N:Okay so I know this chapter was sort of lame, but I promise it will get better, review anyway!!!  
  
Oh yeah, and I realize that half the time I call Will William and half the time I don't, but see, I'm debating over weather Will (Sydney's friend Will) is gonna be in this fic or not, so if he is her son is always gonna be William, and yeah It'll make sense eventually  
  
I realize that William should be a major hockey fan, its in his genes, ya know? However, I know exactly NOTHING about hockey, therefore he can be a basketball fan, that is something I actually know about, so anyway please please please review!!!  
  
~AgentGilmore 


	2. Gone

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
*****  
  
Sydney pulled into her parking place around four o'clock the next afternoon. After gathering up the mountains of papers that she had to grade this weekend, dumping it all inside, and saying goodbye to and paying the babysitter, she walked outside to where her son was playing basketball "Ya know, Mark's gonna get really mad when he sees that you lowered his hoop" she teased, trying to make him afraid of their 14 year old neighbor who was always outside either practicing basketball or soccer  
  
"It's not his" Will sassed "Its every ones who lives here, and it just happens to be right in front of our apartment. Plus, Mark is big, he can make it higher again if he wants to" he replied matter of factly  
  
*Wow, he's good* Sydney thought *just like his father* she added, thinking of all the times Vaughn had been so sure of himself. She sat down nearby and watched him play, his jersey that was about three sizes too big, #10, his lucky number as well as his favorite player's, with his shaggy hair bouncing in his face, Sydney made a mental note to take him for a haircut next week  
  
William dribbled the ball over to where his mom was sitting "Look what I can do mommy" he said as he shot the ball and it swished through the net  
  
*Wow* Sydney thought *he's pretty good for a four year old* "So Will, are you gonna play hockey again, or just follow your NBA dream?" she asked, thinking of Vaughn's hockey obsession  
  
"Hockey's okay, but I'm not a very good skater" he whined  
  
"That's okay sweetie, I'll help you" Sydney said, pulling him onto her lap. "So how about we go inside and figure out what we are going to make for dinner with grandpa"  
  
"Okay" Will replied and followed Sydney inside "Hey mommy, let's cook out cheeseburgers"  
  
"Really? Your grandfather doesn't really hit me as the cheeseburger type of guy" Sydney said with a smile  
  
"So? I like cheeseburgers" Will said, giving his mom that adorable lopsided grin  
  
"Okay fine, I'll start dinner, you go play okay?" she said, pushing him towards his room  
  
An hour later William walked out the back door to where Sydney was standing "Mommy I'm tired of playing, can I go outside and wait for grandpa?" he begged  
  
"No, no one is out there and I can't let you be out by yourself" Syd replied  
  
"Mark is out there"  
  
"I thought you were afraid Mark was gonna beat you up"  
  
"No mommy, YOU were afraid Mark was gonna beat me up" William said, finally getting Sydney to cave  
  
"Okay fine, but come in when grandpa gets her okay?"  
  
"K, byebye" Will said as he ran towards the front door 


	3. Will finds out

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N:first of all, let me apologize for the last chapter, it really really sucked. I haven't even read the 1 review that I got for it because it sucked so much, I tried much harder on this one and hope it is better, so please please review it!!! Oh yeah, and it's longer too, so on to chapter three  
  
*****  
  
Vaughn buried his face in his hands and thought for a minute *This cannot be happening. How am I going to handle a kid? He's gonna hate me, I know it, he's going to think I abandoned him and Syd and he's gonna hate me for it*  
  
Weiss sat down next to him and started eating a sandwich. Then he noticed the look on Vaughn's face "Hey man, what's wrong? You look like you just found out that you're dying" Weiss said, "Okay sorry, that was a lame attempt to make you laugh, or at least smile, obviously it didn't work, so just tell me what's up before I pull out the knock knock jokes"  
  
Vaughn sighed "Sydney's disappeared" he whispered quietly  
  
"Your Sydney?" Weiss asked  
  
"God, why do you still call her that?" Vaughn asked, getting a little bit angry "And yes, my Sydney, who else would I be talking about? And Jack is on his way here with William. Jack is gonna kill me"  
  
"Why?" Weiss asked innocently even though he knew that answer  
  
"Well, let's count the reasons" Vaughn said sarcastically "Number one, Its my fault that Sydney quit, therefore meaning its my fault we still don't have Sloane. Number two, I broke his daughter's heart. Number three, I am an incompetent father.."he was interrupted by Weiss before he could finish  
  
"None of that is true and you know it, every decision that was made was made by Sydney, she broke you, not the other way around" Weiss said, trying to be a supportive friend "she kept you away man, it isn't your fault"  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Michael" Sydney said quietly "I can't take it anymore. It's too risky"  
  
"Syd, I wish it wasn't, okay?, I wish it was possible for us to always be sure our son is going to be okay, and that there are no dangers in the world, but there are baby, and there's nothing we can do about it" he responded  
  
"Vaughn, William can't grow up the way we did. He can't always wonder what daddy really does and why he's always away for work. That can't happen, and I won't let it. He's growing up Michael, and you are not here to see it, you are always away on some damn mission" Sydney said sadly, but also with a hint of anger  
  
"Syd, I can't quit. You know I can't. I promised you I would find Sloane, and until that happens I cannot and will not quit" Vaughn whispered as to not wake the sleeping two year old in the next room  
  
"Then just leave" Sydney said, getting choked up "Vaughn, we can't live like this. I love you so much, you know this, and I thought I would never be able to love anyone as much as I do you" she paused and looked up at him with tears in her eyes "but William, my precious baby Will, he is my life now Michael, and we can't risk it. I love both of you too much to let anything happen to you, but I think it would be best if you would leave"  
  
"What?" Vaughn asked, obviously hurt "Syd, I am trying, I really am. And what are you going to tell Will? If I leave, like you want me to, what are you going to tell him about his father? That I abandoned him?" Vaughn asked angrily "Because I am not choosing to leave him Syd, but I know what you mean, and I hope that someday, when things a less complicated, we can make this work" he added, kissing her softly one last time before he walked into William's room, closing the door softly behind him. He looked at the little boy who slept before him, so innocent; he had no idea about all the evil of the world. Vaughn leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed him softly on the forehead "I love you buddy, and I will miss you very much and think of you every day" Vaughn said quietly, trying to memorize everything about his son, since he had no idea when he would see him again.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Vaughn was so confused. This is what he had hoped for for the last two years, wasn't it? But he didn't want it to happen this way, he wanted Sydney to realize that she was wrong and ask him to come back into their lives. But that wouldn't happen now, Sydney was gone. Possibly for good. "Eric, how the hell am I gonna do this?" Vaughn asked, hoping for some reassuring, or at least humorous words from his best friend  
  
"I am really not the person to ask, but my suggestion is just talk to the kid, ask him questions, find out what he likes, just be his friend first, not his dad" Weiss replied  
  
Vaughn sat there staring, surprised that what had just come out of Weiss's mouth not only made sense, but might actually work "Okay, but he just found out his mom disappeared, he's upset, and there's a chance he remembers me as the evil guy who abandoned him" Vaughn said "I just need reassurance that he's not gonna hate me"  
  
"He won't, let me talk to him for awhile first, I'll lighten him up, getting him to stop thinking about Syd, then you can attempt to bond with him" Weiss suggested  
  
"Bonding? I'm not sure I can handle that" Vaughn said, a smile playing on his lips  
  
Jack's secretary walked up "Agent Vaughn? Your son and Agent Bristow are here. They would like to see you"  
  
"Okay, thank you" Vaughn said quietly, trying to think of something to say to his son. He then quietly walked over to Jack's desk where Jack was standing with the little boy cowering behind his leg. Vaughn crouched down so he was at eye level with Will, and finally got him to make eye contact "Hi William, I'm Michael, will you come and sit with my friend while I talk to your grandpa for a minute?"  
  
William slowly nodded his head and Vaughn grabbed the small duffle bag that Will had brought, and showed him where his desk was. He lifted Will up into his chair and set his bag down; then turned to Weiss "Watch him for a minute, will you? I need to have a word or two with Jack" Vaughn asked  
  
"Sure man, but remember that I know exactly nothing about entertaining kids" he warned as Vaughn walked away  
  
"Jack" Vaughn said, terrified of facing him right now, but doing it for Will's sake "Does he know?"  
  
"Does he know what?" Jack said, his tone harsh "does he know that his mother has disappeared? Yes. Does he know why, or how, or when she's going to be back? No, and that scares him, and I have no idea what to do about it."  
  
Vaughn couldn't believe he had just heard Jack Bristow say he didn't know what to do "Well, I'm not sure I do either, but I think it would be best if William stayed with me while we try to find Sydney" Vaughn said quietly "I wonder if I'll even remember how to act around him, he's grown so much"  
  
"Yeah, well two years will do that to a kid. Do you think he recognized you?"  
  
"I really don't know, he might have, but didn't really act like he did, but I think he's still pretty freaked out by Syd being gone" Vaughn answered  
  
"Well, just take him home, let him get some sleep, maybe tell him you are his dad tomorrow. He has enough to deal with tonight. And call me if you need anything, I'll probably be here all night trying to get a search team together" Jack said  
  
Vaughn smiled, surprised at how sympathetic Jack was being, and went back to find William and take him home  
  
Back at Vaughn's desk, Weiss was trying to analyze William without staring at him. Mostly Vaughn, he thought. Vaughn's eyes, nose, hair, chin. Sydney's dimples though, that was obvious. Then he noticed the basketball jersey. Sport nut. Obviously Vaughn's kid, Weiss though smiling. He noticed how uncomfortable the kid looked and tried to make small talk "So, you like basketball?"  
  
William nodded slowly, surprised that someone had talked to him. It seemed like everyone who had seen him so far looked angry, as if he was disrupting their work just by being there.  
  
"Are you a Lakers fan?" Weiss asked, hoping he could eventually get the kid to talk since he had no idea when Vaughn would be back again  
  
Will nodded again, smiling a little bit of a half smile this time *that is all Vaughn* Weiss thought, thinking of all the times he had seen his best friend do that, usually while around Sydney  
  
"That's cool, you can probably go to a game with me and your." Weiss stopped himself *Does Will know? Oh well, better play it safe* "with me and Michael sometime. What other teams do ya like kid?" Weiss asked, just to get the satisfaction of making the kid answer a question actually, not just shake or nod his head.  
  
"Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Kansas. All the big basketball schools" Will replied, thinking that this guy might actually want to talk to him  
  
Weiss was impressed, for a four year old kid he sure knew his sports, maybe he should quiz Will on foreign policy next. Just then Vaughn walked up  
  
"Hey William, I just talked to your grandpa, I'm so sorry about what happened to your mom, but your grandpa and I decided that it would be best for you to stay with me rather than him, so if you're ready, I'll get your bag and we can go. I bet you are pretty tired" Vaughn said, having no idea what to say to a kid whose mother had just disappeared  
  
William slid out of the chair with a somber look on his face, since now he was thinking about his mom's disappearance. "Bye guys" Weiss said as Vaughn grabbed his son's bag and started walking away  
  
"Bye" Will said quietly. Over Will's head Vaughn looked at Weiss and mouthed thank you.  
  
~~~  
  
About thirty minutes later Vaughn finished putting sheets onto the couch and helped Will change into his pajamas. "Hey William, can you come here for a minute?" Vaughn asked as he patted the spot next to him on the couch for the little boy to sit. As Will sat down, Vaughn took a deep breath and started to talk. "Will, I know you are upset about what happened to your mom today, but I promise you, me, and your grandpa, and Weiss are going to try our hardest to find her as soon as we can"  
  
"Is mommy dead?" Will asked, completely out of the blue  
  
Vaughn was taken aback "umm no Will, I don't think she is, she's just missing, but I promise you we will find her"  
  
"Can I ask another question?" the little boy asked softly  
  
"Of course" Vaughn said, even though he wasn't as sure as he sounded  
  
"Um, are you my daddy?" William asked, his big green eyes staring up at Vaughn  
  
"Yeah" Vaughn answered quietly "Yeah, I am"  
  
This being the answer William wanted and assumed he would get, she crawled into Vaughn's lap and started sobbing into his shoulder  
  
"Shhh, it's okay buddy" Vaughn said, trying to comfort him "I promise we'll find her, I promise.."  
  
*****  
A/N: So there it is, it actually turned out okay I think, but I kind of suck @ writing flashbacks. But please review with any feedback/suggestions that you have, I was thinking about maybe having William meet Irina in an upcoming chapter hmm I dunno tho  
  
On a mildly related, but not really note, I am what you would call an obsessed Kansas basketball fan, and I just HAD to mention it in this chapter, and it's no like we suck, so I guess it's possible some kid halfway across the country likes them right??? But anyways, after being in mourning for several weeks after the championship game, I am finally done and guess what?!?! (Okay, this is the really unrelated part) On Wednesday, I get to meet Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison!!! I realize that this means nothing to all of you, but they are seniors this year and I was so sad cuz I was never gonna get to see them play again, but my friend is playing in some exhibition game with them and he said I get to meet them ahhhhh sorry I know I am boring you guys, so I'll stop now, but please please please review, I love you guys!!!!  
  
~AgentGilmore 


	4. a message

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Thank you guys for all of the WONDERFUL reviews!!! Now just tell all of your friends to come read my story too!!! I think the lesson I have learned is that long chapters get more response (either that or my first two chapters just really sucked!) anyway thank you thank you thank you, especially to Sarah, who is cheering on my hawks, cuz even though I said I was done mourning, I'm still not totally over it and need a little reassurance every now and then (see, I told you I was obsessed) but anyways, now I have to rant about Sunday's episode~VAUGHN CAN'T BE MARRIED!!!!!  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Bailey, who is the only one who truly understands my obsessions  
  
*****  
  
William woke up the next morning and looked around for a few minutes before realizing where he was. Vaughn noticed him sitting up on the couch and got up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee "Morning Will, you hungry?" Vaughn asked  
  
Will nodded slowly  
  
"Okay, well most of the food I have is pretty boring, sorry" Vaughn said as he went through the refrigerator in hopes of finding something his son would be willing to eat "You like bagels?" he asked, pulling out a bag that that looked like it wasn't too old  
  
"Sure" Will answered softly; now distracted by the large bulldog that was sleeping under the coffee table  
  
"I see you discovered Donovan" Vaughn said, crouching down beside the little boy and scratching Donny's ears  
  
"Hey Donny" William said quietly, petting the dog  
  
"So, do you have any pets?" Vaughn asked, realizing that he knew nothing about Sydney and William's life without him  
  
"Yeah" Will said "We have a dog, his name is Casey"  
  
"Oh, is he still at your house?" Vaughn asked, thinking that he would probably have to go back to Sydney and Will's house to get some things anyway "Cause we could probably go and get him today"  
  
"Really?" William asked, his eyes lighting up and really truly smiling for the first time since Sydney disappeared "Hey, how about we get read, go and get some breakfast somewhere, then I have to go the office to do a few things, and then I'll go get Casey okay?" Vaughn said, knowing that he owed a lot to this kid, and this was the least he could do  
  
"Thanks" William said, shyly smiling up at his father  
  
~~~  
  
About an hour and a half later Vaughn and his son walked into the building which it seemed they had just left. Vaughn didn't want to go to work, he knew he should be spending time with William, trying to comfort him, but he also knew that he must try to find Sydney as soon as possible. "Hey Weiss" Vaughn said, sliding into the chair at his desk "Anything yet?"  
  
"Nope. I'm working on it, so is Dixon, and Marshall, and Carrie, and I'm assuming Jack would be if he was here"  
  
"Jack isn't here? That has got to be a first" Vaughn said, wondering if he should check on him, after all his son's mother had just disappeared, and he only had one grandfather as it is, he couldn't risk losing Jack  
  
"I'm sure he's just a little shook up about Syd being gone" Weiss assured Vaughn, seeing the worried look on his face "Hey Will" Weiss added, reminding Vaughn that he probably shouldn't say too much in front of Will  
  
Vaughn crouched down so he was at eye level with William "I've got to go talk to a few people really quick, can you stay here with Weiss for a minute?"  
  
"Okay" Will replied  
  
"Hey, dude, I'm not gonna be your full time babysitter now, so don't get used to it" Weiss said with a smile "I am just as clueless about kids as you are"  
  
"Thanks, I'll be back in just a minute" Vaughn said, walking first over to the place where Marshall and Dixon were standing "Guys, nothing yet I hear?" he asked, hoping that there was something, but knowing there wasn't  
  
"No, I'm sorry" Dixon said "I know what its like, and if there is anything I can do, just ask"  
  
"Yeah, um, me too" Marshall said  
  
"Well, I think I'm going to go back to Syd's today, just to see if there is anything there, and pick up some things for Will.."  
  
"Will?" Marshall asked "His son" Dixon said quietly to Marshall  
  
"You and Sydney have a son? O, um sorry I didn't know, and yeah well I hope that we find Syd soon and um yeah"  
  
"That's okay, will you two just make sure that my son and my best friend don't do anything too stupid while I'm gone okay?"  
  
"You know, he can stay here with me while you're gone" Dixon offered  
  
"That's okay, I think Jack will watch him as soon as he gets here, but thanks" Vaughn walked back to his desk where Weiss was doing magic trick as William looked on, amazed "what are you talking about? You totally have this entertaining kids thing down" Vaughn joked as he stood behind Weiss. "Hey William, can I talk to you for a minute?" Vaughn asked, taking his son into the isolated corner where he and Sydney had met so many times, bringing back a flood of memories "I am going to go to your house like I told you I would, what else do you want me to bring other than your dog?"  
  
"Can I come with you?" William asked hopefully  
  
"No buddy, I think it would be best if you stayed here with your granddad or Weiss or someone, but I'm going to get anything you need"  
  
"Well, more clothes I guess, and maybe a few books, and my legos, and my basketball, and my skates and my hockey stick..."he was interrupted by Vaughn  
  
"You play hockey?" he asked, smiling  
  
"Yeah, sorta, I'm not very good, but mommy really wants me to stick with it"  
  
Vaughn smiled, maybe Sydney didn't hate him after all "Anything else?"  
  
William paused and thought for a minute "Nope, can I please come with you?" he asked, showing his dimples. Vaughn almost caved when he saw the look on his son's face, but then thought about how bad it would be if he did find something and had to sort things out with Will there  
  
"Sorry, but I promise you will have fun here, let's go see if Jack, er, your grandpa is here" Vaughn said, taking William's hand and leading him back out into the chaos of the CIA building, Vaughn knew he probably shouldn't keep bringing his young son to work at a place such as the CIA, but he wasn't ready to put him in an sort of preschool or daycare, even the CIA's, right now he just needed some time with his son.  
  
~~~  
  
Vaughn drove towards Sydney's apartment, remembering exactly where to turn and how to get there, even though it had been two years. He had driven this route a million times, getting within a few miles before turning around because he knew Sydney had asked him to leave for a reason. He glanced down at his cell phone, hoping it would ring and someone would tell him that they had found Syd, even though he knew it wouldn't. Instead he picked it up and dialed a familiar number  
  
"Weiss, what do you want?" the voice on the other end asked  
  
"Hey it's me, is Jack there yet?"  
  
"Nope. Still hasn't showed up. No idea why"  
  
"I'm so sorry, I really thought he would be there, I didn't want to dump Will on you again" Vaughn said apologetically  
  
"No, it's fine, he's a great kid, and I don't even have to worry about him, he's playing one of Marshall's computer games and has been for the last 30 minutes, I figure he can entertain himself with that for at least another hour" Weiss said, laughing  
  
"Okay, do you think I should call Jack?"  
  
"No, give him time, he'll be here"  
  
"Okay, thanks again, bye" Vaughn said as he pulled up in front of the apartment, pulled the key that Jack had given him for emergencies, and unlocked the door, hoping he would find something, anything, that would help him find Syd inside  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile, Jack Bristow showed a guard his ID and then walked down an empty hallway *Why am I doing this?* he thought to himself *she has the right to know* a voice in the back of his head told him, even though he didn't believe it, he kept on walking. He stopped in front of her cell and cleared his throat quietly  
  
She turned and saw him, wondering why he of all people was here to see her "Hello stranger" she said, her tone angry "I assume you have something very important to say since I haven't seen you or my daughter in the last five years, so let's just cut to the chase"  
  
"Sydney has disappeared" Jack said, trying not to let her see him get emotional "and I want to know what you know about it"  
  
Irina stood there, shocked she took a deep breath and then spoke "I have not seen you or Sydney for five years Jack, I have been in this damn cell the whole time, do you really think I was involved in this?"  
  
"I didn't think you could easily make business transactions with Arvin Sloane from this cell, but you proved me wrong about that didn't you?" Jack said, now getting as angry as she was  
  
"Jack, I swear to you I know nothing about Sydney's whereabouts. I haven't even tried to speak with her recently. I just assumed that both of you didn't want anything to do with me. I know you didn't, but I wasn't sure about her" Irina said quietly  
  
Jack knew she was trying to make him feel sorry for her, but he wouldn't, he couldn't do that to himself "Sydney left the CIA five years ago. That's why you haven't heard from us. I figured if we were not going to discuss our daughter, there were very few other things we needed to discuss"  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Why did she leave? She never wanted to be an agent her whole life. She wanted a real job, where she didn't have to worry about being killed every day. You encouraged her to quit, why do you act so surprised" Jack asked, no less angry, realizing that both of them were dealing with the disappearance of their daughter  
  
"I never thought she actually would. Arvin Sloane is still out there, she wouldn't leave until he was dead, why?"  
  
"She had reasons that she wanted to leave" Jack said, not wanting Irina to know about William  
  
"Jack" she said, tears welling up in her eyes "I know that you don't want me to know anything about Sydney, or what she has been doing for the last five years, or any details of her life. However, right now we are in the same position. I realize that you have always been the perfect father, and I have been her evil traitor of a mother, but right now, you and I are equals, we both want to mourn over Sydney's disappearance, but I can't, because I just realized that I know nothing about my daughter"  
  
"No, you don't" Jack said angrily "so why start finding things out now?"  
  
"You don't have to tell me anything, but let me help find her, please" She pleaded  
  
Jack looked into her eyes and saw the same pain that he was feeling right now. He tried not to cave, he really did, but this was the first time in his life when he and his ex wife really had something in common "Sydney was a teacher" he said quietly, not meeting her eyes "she lived about an hour outside of LA with her son" he paused, looking up to see her response  
  
"Her son" Irina repeated quietly not really as a question, but not really as a statement either  
  
"Yes" Jack said, not wanting to go on, but for some reason feeling obligated to "William, William Jackson" he said, pulling a photo of Sydney and William last year out of his wallet and holding it up to the glass  
  
"Named after his grandfathers" Irina said, running her fingers over the photo of her daughter and grandson "Where is he..now that Sydney is gone?"  
  
"Legally, he is in his father's custody, but right now both Michael and I are tying to figure out what will be best for William, he's so young, and we don't really know how he is dealing with it" Jack said, obviously getting more emotional than he meant to be about his daughter's disappearance and his grandson's uncertain future  
  
Irina still looked at the picture of her grandson, knowing she had no right to call him that, even inside her head. After all, she had never been a real mother to Sydney, and had never even met William. Looking up at Jack with tears in her eyes she asked "Will I ever be able to meet him?"  
  
"Not likely, since he is in Michael's custody, and it is not likely that he wants to complicate this situation anymore, especially if it involves you"  
  
"Please Jack, try. This is one person who doesn't think of me as a criminal, who might actually love me for the person I have become, and not know about the person I used to be"  
  
"When he finds out that you killed his grandfather, I'm pretty sure he's going to think of you as a criminal" Jack said, suddenly getting his emotions under control "And I do think it's best to keep you out of this, if he asks about you or his parents wish for him to know you, then they can deal with that when it comes up, but right now I think we all have more important things to do, such as find Sydney, I'll tell you if we find anything about her, until then, goodbye" Jack said, walking away quickly, angry at himself for putting his grandson in danger like that  
  
~~~  
  
Meanwhile Vaughn looked around Sydney's apartment, looking for the smallest clue as to where she might have gone or who might have taken her. As he wandered throughout the house, gathering up the things William had asked him to get, as well as some other things he assumed that Will would probably want.  
  
Vaughn paused in front of a picture frame on her bedside table. He recognized that frame. It had been his gift to her on their first anniversary, and he had put a picture of them in it. He paused now seeing that it had been replaced with a picture of Sydney and William, probably taken fairly recently, both of them smiling brightly. Vaughn opened the back of the frame and saw that behind that picture was the one of him and Syd, also with huge smiles on their faces. It seemed like it had been a very long time since he and Sydney and been that happy together. Vaughn sighed and took the frame with him.  
  
He walked back into the kitchen, seeing William's lazy cocker spaniel stretched out on the floor. "Hey, you must be Casey" Vaughn said, petting the dog's soft head and searching around for a leash an everything else that he didn't already have at home for Donny. As he walked over to where he saw the leash hanging alongside Will's jacket, he noticed the light on the answering machine blinking. Vaughn walked over and pressed the button. "You have one new message" the automated voice told him.  
  
Suddenly Sydney's sweet voice filled the room  
  
"Hey critter, it's mom. I was just calling because something happened, and someone took me away last night, and I just wanted to tell you I was okay" there was a pause "er I am okay. So I have no idea when they are going to let me go, but they are bad people, and I may need awhile to try to get rid of them. You will probably be staying with grandpa, or maybe your daddy. I know you haven't seen him in a few years, but he really is a good man, so please, just be good while I'm gone. I'm sure they will take great care of you sweetie" her voice cracked " I love you so much William, you are my little critter, my perfect little boy, and I promise, I will try to get back to you as soon as I can" Sydney paused and there was the sound of a door slamming and muffled voices in the background. "I love you critter, I love you so so so much, I'll be home as soon as I can" she added, before it sounded like the phone was being taken away and turned off by someone else.  
  
Vaughn just stood there, dumbfounded, with tears in his eyes. He had to find Sydney, he had to, sure this was rough on him, but he didn't realize until now how hard it was on his son.  
  
*****  
  
A/N:Wow, this chapter is finally done, I thought it never would be, but the last week has been incredibly hectic, exams are coming up, plus I am still kind of recovering from last week's episode and my encounter w/ nick and kirk on wed., so I took me a while to get this one out. I hope it doesn't seem too forced, but even if it does, please review!!!! 


	5. Bonding

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Wow, not much feedback for chapter 4. Either it really sucked or people were just too busy reading post "The Telling" fics. Anyway, here is chapter 5  
  
*****  
  
A week later things seemed to be going fairly well for Vaughn and William. The small office in the back of the house had been turned into a makeshift bedroom for William, he was spending his days at the preschool in the CIA building while Vaughn spent his days trying to find Syd, and so far Casey and Donovan had only gotten into one fight.  
  
Vaughn walked into the small room that William had turned into his. Toys were scattered around, a basketball, hockey stick, and his skates were piled in one corner, and clothes were heaped in the other. "Hey William, wanna do something today?" Vaughn asked, finally getting Will to look up from his gameboy.  
  
"You don't have to work?"  
  
"Nope." Vaughn answered, feeling bad for working so much "its Saturday, no work, so let's go somewhere"  
  
"Like where?" William asked quietly  
  
"I dunno, maybe we could go skate around or play hockey for awhile?" Vaughn asked his son hopefully  
  
"Umm, I'm not a very good skater" Will said "But I guess we could do that" he added, putting his little video game away  
  
"I'll help you if you need it buddy, we don't even have to play, we can just hang out for awhile" Vaughn said  
  
"Okay" Will said, getting down off of his bed and grabbing his skates and stick out of the corner "Let's go"  
  
"Okay" Vaughn said with a smile as he closed the bedroom door behind them  
  
~~~  
  
30 minutes and two large orders of McDonald's French fries later, they arrived at the rink. As much as Vaughn loved this place, it did bring back some painful memories of when he and Sydney got along, and when their relationship wasn't so complicated (well, as not complicated as a two CIA agents, one whose mother killed the other's father can be) Even with thoughts of Sydney filling his head, Vaughn smiled and got out of the car, helping Will out and then grabbing both of their skates and sticks.  
  
A few minutes later Vaughn and Will sat on the bleachers of the virtually empty rink, lacing up their skates "You need any help Will?" Vaughn asked, hoping that he and his son's awkward silence phase would be over soon.  
  
"Yeah" William answered, tagging at his skate  
  
Vaughn quickly got to his feet and helped, surprisingly, he had actually settled into this taking care of a kid thing.  
  
"Thanks.." William said, smiling up at Vaughn.  
  
He nodded and smiled back at William, noticing that his son never called him anything. In hopes to fill the weird silence in which most kids would have said thanks dad, Vaughn sat down. "Ya know, William, where you were little, and I was around, you always called me daddy"  
  
Will nodded "I remember" he said quietly  
  
"And I know that I haven't been around for awhile, so I don't really expect you to call me that anymore, but you could call me something, Mike, or Michael, or Vaughn, did you know you mom never called me by my first name? I was always Vaughn to her. Then again this could get confusing since ya know, your name is Vaughn too" *Since when did I start babbling so much? I have got to stop spending so much time around Marshall* Vaughn thought "but anyway, those are just options, I mean you can call me dad if you want to, or just not call me anything at all, that works too" he finished breathlessly *Oh my gosh why does a four year old kid make me this nervous* he thought, making his way to the ice "Okay, enough talk, let's skate" he said, embarrassed  
  
"No, wait" William said, looking up at his dad with his big green eyes sparkling "Can I call you dad? Like I used to?"  
  
"Of course" Vaughn said, smiling "Of course you can, come on, let's go" he said, taking Will's hand and helping him walk awkwardly to the ice "You need any help?"  
  
"No, I'm okay, I just need to stay near the side for awhile. I haven't been skating for a few months"  
  
"Okay" Vaughn said, still smiling from what seemed like a major development in his relationship with his son. He skated slowly beside William, keeping close just in case he was about to fall *since when did I become so protective?* he asked himself, still keeping his eyes on William, who had now let go of the railing and was skating pretty fast ahead of Vaughn. "Good job William, I thought you said you weren't a very good skater"  
  
"I'm not" the little boy said, focusing on his skating, not his conversation with his dad  
  
"Um, okay" Vaughn said, a smile playing on his lips "Hey, I'll race you"  
  
"No" William said "You're too fast"  
  
Vaughn smiled "I'll give you a head start"  
  
"Fine"  
  
"Okay, one, two, three..go!!" William skated off, wobbling a little bit. Vaughn waited a good 10 seconds before he started off, not really trying very hard. He skated up to where William was now standing on the ice  
  
"You let me win dad" he whined  
  
*Dad. Wow, he called me dad. I may not be the worst father ever after all* Vaughn smiled "So what if I did?" He asked, skating away, and looking over his shoulder at his son, who was still standing there. Since he was looking back, he didn't see where he was going. Suddenly he slipped and fell onto the ice.  
  
William started laughing at his dad. Then he skated over and offered a hand to help him up  
  
"So, you think that was funny?" Vaughn asked, trying to look serious  
  
"Um yeah" William said truthfully  
  
"Fine, I bet you'll think this is funny too" Vaughn said playfully, scooping up William, throwing him over his shoulder, and skating off  
  
"Ahh" William screamed playfully, and a few minutes later "Daddy put me down"  
  
Vaughn skated off the ice and set William down "So are you done or ya wanna play a little one on one?" Vaughn asked, taking his hockey stick in his hand  
  
"Let's play!!!" William yelled, reaching for his stick  
  
Just then Vaughn's phone rang "Vaughn" he said, annoyed that someone was interrupting what seemed to be a semi-normal father son moment  
  
"Hey Mike" Weiss said over the phone  
  
"Tell Kendall whatever he wants I can't do it"  
  
"It's not Kendall, its Jack, he's got a lead"  
  
*****  
  
A/N: hmm this is pretty short, sorry. I just rewatched "The telling" and I think I'm still a little scarred lol. I'm not really sure where I'm going after the next chapter or 2, so suggestions are greatly appreciated!!! Now please review!!! 


	6. A nice little chat

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: sorry for the long wait between updates, but last week was my brother's graduation, then I was in Pittsburg for my cousin's wedding over the weekend, and right when we got back I had to start finals, so my fics haven't really been my top priority. Now I'm back, so please review chapter six..i would greatly appreciate suggestions, b/c I'm not really sure where this is going  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Vaughn ran into the ops center, William trailing behind him as fast as his short legs could carry him  
  
"Sark's in Budapest" Jack said, greeting them at the door "A team is already on their way there"  
  
"Do we have reason to believe that Sydney is with him" Vaughn asked, suddenly grim and businesslike  
  
"There were two seats booked under his alias on the flight there, it could be wrong, but it's enough to go on" Jack replied  
  
Vaughn looked from his son to Jack and then back to William again. He crouched down and looked straight into William's intense green eyes "I've got to go away for a few days to try to find your mom" he said quietly then turned to Jack "will you take care of him?"  
  
"I'm afraid you can't do that" Jack said "The team is already gone" he paused "and director Kendall believes that you are too personally involved in this case to be on this mission"  
  
"WHAT?" Vaughn asked, angry now "If anything, my personal involvement in the case should help us find her, not hurt the mission"  
  
"Michael" Jack said quietly "if anyone understands how badly you want to find Sydney, it's me. If it were me making the decision, I would have let you go, however it is not. I am sure the agents we sent will do their best to bring her back. Go home. Rest. Take care of your son. They will find her"  
  
Vaughn stood there, looking helpless. Then he took William's hand in his "come on buddy" he said, leading him out of the ops center "Are they gonna find mommy?" William asked, big tears forming in his eyes and his lower lip quivering  
  
"I hope so. I really, really hope so" Vaughn said, taking his son in his arms and wiping away the tears sliding down William's face, hoping that his son wouldn't notice the ones running down his  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vaughn sat on the couch in the living room while William had fallen asleep with his head on Donovan. The old dog snorted, and Vaughn swears he saw him roll his eyes.  
  
*I have got to do something* he thought *I can't just sit here. There has to be somebody who can help me find her. I can't wait for the CIA*  
  
Then Vaughn had crazy idea. *No* he told himself. But before he knew it he was waking up William and taking him over the neighbor's house. "Hey Becky" he said, as their friendly neighbor answered the door "can you watch Will for a little while? I've got to go do something real quick"  
  
"Sure" the kind woman replied "Nick, Jade, come downstairs, William is here" she yelled up to her 2 kids who were about Will's age  
  
Vaughn smiled "thanks, I'll be back soon" he said, knowing that he probably wouldn't be  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Three hours later, Vaughn was still pacing outside the building *You've gotta go in* he told himself * this is your only hope in finding Sydney* He walked slowly through the door, avoiding anyone he might know  
  
*I really should have checked with Jack before I did this* the thought *Oh well, too late now* he walked down the darkened hallway, and saw a light *God, does she ever sleep?* he wondered, seeing her crouched over her desk. Vaughn took a deep breath and stepped out of the shadows "Where the hell is Sydney?" he asked, trying to sound rational, even though he knew he didn't  
  
Irina looked startled when she saw who it was "Michael.. It's quite a surprise to see you here"  
  
"I asked you a question" he growled  
  
"What makes you think I know where she is?" Irina asked, she smiled at him "your son looks just like you"  
  
Vaughn stared, then got an angry look on his face "If you ever come near my son...i SWEAR I will kill you"  
  
"Michael, I was not involved in Sydney's disappearance, nor do I plan on doing anything to your son. You know he's my grandson too, I would never do anything to my family"  
  
"You shot your daughter. Why should I believe that you won't do the same to her son?" Vaughn asked angrily  
  
Irina looked up with tears in her eyes "I wish I was Laura Bristow again" she said quietly "I wish I could hold my daughter in my arms and kiss away her tears. But I can't. Because my daughter disappeared, probably because of some stupid mistake or severed connection I had in the past. I wish that my husband would have come to see me more than once in five years. I wish he had told me that we have a grandson."  
  
"He did" Vaughn said, emotionless. He didn't want to give in to Irina, no matter how innocent she seemed  
  
"I wish I could be a normal grandmother, and bake cookies, and not have to tell my grandson that I killed his grandfather" Irina continued "Please Michael. Please. Just let me meet him, once. Let me see him. He is the only piece of Sydney I have left"  
  
Vaughn looked up. He hadn't thought of it that way. He had kept telling himself that they would find her, but now he wasn't so sure. "Tell me what you know about Sydney's whereabouts, and then I will consider allowing you to meet my son"  
  
"I swear to you, I know nothing. If I did I would tell you in a second. I haven't been in contact with Sark or Sloane for the last year and a half"  
  
"Where were they when you last contacted them?" Vaughn asked, hoping to get something out of her  
  
"Sark was traveling. Sloane was living in Tuscany. He was working on discovering the second part of Rambali's legacy"  
  
"Is he still living there?"  
  
"I don't know, but it had been his permanent residence for the last three years"  
  
Well. That was something. Vaughn thought for a minute. *Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I let William meet her. After all, she is family* Then he started thinking straight *are you crazy? She killed your father, why the hell would you put you son in that kind of danger?* he asked himself "Thank you. I will speak with William and let him decide if he wants to meet you" Vaughn said, leaving before Irina could respond. He knew very well that he wasn't even going to offer the option of meeting her to William, but that was okay, because she didn't know that. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
A/N: Sorry that was kind of short. I think I forgot how to write fanfic during my hiatus. Anyway, I want at least 5 reviews before the next chapter is posted, b/c I'm not sure anyone is reading this anymore, and if they're not, it is kind of pointless to continue. Next chapter-William meets Irina (or does he...)  
  
REVIEW!!!!!!! 


	7. Grandparents day

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Wow, someone is actually reading this fic!!! Score!!! lol anyway here's chapter 7  
  
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A few months later, shortly before Christmas, William bounded into the living room to where Vaughn was looking over some files on the couch. "Will, how many times to I have to tell you? No dribbling in the house" William put the ball down and pouted. This had become a routine for them, every night, Vaughn would pick up William from preschool on the way home from work, make dinner, eat, go their separate ways for a little while and then sit and talk in the living room. Vaughn enjoyed getting to know his son, and since the lead in Budapest and another in Vienna had turned up nothing, he was starting to accept the fact that he might be William's only parent.  
  
"Hey dad" William said, moving some of Vaughn's papers and jumping onto the couch  
  
"Hmm" Vaughn responded, still focusing on his work  
  
"Grandpa Jack is mommy's daddy right?"  
  
"Yeah buddy, why?" Vaughn asked, worried that Jack might have told William something about their disturbed family history  
  
"Well, the week before Christmas break, we're having grandparents day at preschool and I wanted to ask Grandpa Jack to come" William said  
  
Vaughn laughed softly at the thought of Jack at a preschool party "Maybe little man, you should ask him" Vaughn said with a smile  
  
"Dad."  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Where does your dad live?" William asked innocently  
  
*Uh-oh. This is where things start going downhill* Vaughn thought "He's dead" Vaughn said quietly, hoping that the questions would stop now  
  
"Oh" William looked up at Vaughn with his big green eyes "What about grandmas? Do either of them live near here?"  
  
"Um" he paused "My mother lives in France. And Sydney's mom she um died when your mom was a little girl" Vaughn lied, hoping and praying that William would buy it. It was just easier this way. He would find out eventually, Vaughn knew that. I was just much easier to keep this issue at a distance for now.  
  
"Oh. Well can I call Grandpa Jack then and see if he can come?" William asked  
  
Vaughn breathed a sigh of relief "Sure buddy, I'll go get his number"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"Jack" Vaughn said, coming up behind him the next day at work "one question, are you crazy?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Jack asked, offended  
  
"I only told William to call you so I wouldn't ruin his hopes right away. I know that Jack Bristow would never in his right mind agree to come to a preschool grandparents day. What is going on" Vaughn asked  
  
"William is the only bit of Sydney I have left. I think by doing this for him, I might be making up for being such a horrible father to her when she was that age. I need to spend as much time with him as possible, no one knows anything about Sydney. The CIA can't find her. Irina swears she knows nothing"  
  
"I know"  
  
"You know?"  
  
"I went to see your wife awhile back. In hopes of getting some sort of information" Vaughn admitted  
  
Jack started at Vaughn for a few seconds before saying anything "She knows nothing. And for some crazy insane reason, I believe her this time"  
  
"She wants to meet William"  
  
"I know. Did you let her meet him?"  
  
"No. I told him she was dead" Vaughn said with a guilty conscience. After all, his son did have the right to know his grandmother  
  
"He's going to find out eventually. Especially if Sydney doesn't show up"  
  
"She will, Jack, she has to" Vaughn said  
  
"I hope so, for now, we have William"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The next week William came to work with Vaughn on Monday. Jack greeted them at the door "Hello William. I hear you have quite a day planned for us" Jack said, almost smiling. Since Sydney's disappearance, Jack had really warmed up to William. "We can go in just a few minutes. I'll be right back" Jack said, walking away  
  
"Come here Will, we'll go over to my desk and see if Weiss has any magic tricks to show you" Vaughn said  
  
"William" Weiss said greeting them "just the innocent little child I was looking for"  
  
"Whatever juvenile act you want my son to take part in..no" Vaughn said  
  
"Come on dad, you're no fun" Weiss joked as William looked up at Vaughn with pleading eyes. Anything with Weiss was always fun  
  
"Fine" Vaughn said, giving in "but only five minutes, and if the cops come after you."  
  
".then I take the blame" Weiss said  
  
"Right."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
That afternoon Jack brought William home from preschool.  
  
"Hey William, how did it go?" Vaughn asked as the little boy ran from his grandfather's car into the house  
  
"Great!" he yelled over his shoulder  
  
Vaughn laughed softly "You survived?" he asked Jack  
  
"Yeah, well they almost stumped me with 'tell us whose grandparent you are, what your name is, and what you do for a living'" Jack said  
  
Vaughn laughed "and you told them.?"  
  
"That I am a retired gastro intestinal surgeon"  
  
"Oh, nice cover job. So you didn't happen to mention that you and your daughter spent most you your lives being double agents and that you are married to an internationally wanted terrorist who killed William's other grandfather?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Okay, good" Vaughn said. "Listen, I had better go in and make sure that William isn't doing whatever juvenile thing Weiss taught him to do today. See you tomorrow, and thanks again for doing this"  
  
"It's an honor. That's quite I kid you've got"  
  
"Yeah. I know" Vaughn watched as Jack drove away. It was strange, getting along with Jack, interacting with Irina. It was crazy what Sydney being gone had done to him. Vaughn walked into the house "William, wanna go out for dinner?"  
  
"Yeah!!!" Will yelled, running out of his room  
  
"Race you to the car" Vaughn teased, seeing that William was in a good mood "Ready, set, go!"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Later, at dinner, Vaughn was talking to his son about his day "So what horrible thing did you and Eric do?" Vaughn asked, hoping it wasn't too bad  
  
"Nothing" William replied innocently  
  
"William.." Vaughn said, trying to sound stern  
  
"I promised I wouldn't tell you"  
  
"Oh great, it's so bad you had to promise you wouldn't tell me?" Vaughn asked, rolling his eyes "I guess I might have to tickle it out of you" Vaughn added, knowing his son's weakness  
  
"Okay, okay. We threw water balloons at the people on the roof!" William said, his tone half proud and half ashamed of what he and his 'uncle Eric' did  
  
"Well, did you hit anyone?" Vaughn asked  
  
"Yeah, this one guy in a suit. I think uncle Eric knew him. But then the guards saw us, so we ran away" William replied  
  
Vaughn laughed even though he hoped it would never happen again  
  
"There was this one lady up there" William continued "She looked kinda like mommy"  
  
*Oh crap. I totally forgot that she had roof privileges*  
  
".And she looked at me a little bit funny, like she knew me or something"  
  
*Oh no* Vaughn thought *this is not happening. I shouldn't have lied to him about her, I knew it would come back to haunt me, I just didn't know it would happen this soon*  
  
William said patiently as if waiting for an answer. When Vaughn didn't say anything, he asked "Do you know her? She looks like mom, with dark hair and eyes"  
  
Vaughn cleared his throat. *Oh what the hell. It's better he know now* "Um yeah William. Actually, that's Sydney's mother." He paused and looked into William's eyes which had gotten quite big  
  
"But you said."  
  
"I know I told you she was dead. But the truth is, she's not. She faked her own death when your mom was a little girl, but then worked for an evil organization until she turned herself into the CIA about six years ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you buddy, but I didn't want you to know about her. She's a bad person. She killed people, including my father, and I just didn't want you to have to deal with all of this right now, so I kept it from you. I'm sorry"  
  
William just stared. Vaughn wasn't sure how well a four year old could process all of that information, but he hoped for the best. Finally William spoke "So that lady, the one who looks like mommy.she's my grandma?"  
  
Vaughn nodded  
  
"and she killed my grandpa?"  
  
Vaughn nodded again. He hoped this wasn't too much for William to handle  
  
"Why'd she do that?"  
  
This question caught Vaughn off guard. He thought about it for a moment and then answered as truthfully as he could "I don't really know. She was working for some very bad people, and they ordered her to kill him"  
  
"Oh. Does she live on the roof?"  
  
For such a serious discussion, this question almost made Vaughn laugh "No, she lives in a cell in the CIA building"  
  
"Doesn't she get lonely?" William asked innocently  
  
A four year old seemed to understand Irina Derevko better than all of the CIA's analysts put together "I suppose she does"  
  
"Do you ever go visit her?"  
  
"No, I went a little while back to see if she knew anything about where your mom was, but I never talk to her"  
  
"Does grandpa Jack?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Can I visit her?"  
  
Vaughn was caught very off guard by this question "I don't think that's a good idea"  
  
"Please daddy, she looked so lonely up on the roof"  
  
"Maybe William, maybe" Vaughn said, hoping that this discussion would come to an end and visiting her would never be brought up again "It's getting late, let's go home"  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
A/N:hmm so William was gonna meet Irina in this chapter, but I changed it so he doesn't, and I'm not sure I like it. Also, I love Irina, I think she's a great character and I truly believe that she isn't evil, but I think there has been enough of her for awhile. Now I am debating over if Syd should reappear soon (like at Christmas) or later (maybe skip a few months, make her gone for a year or so) anyway, tell me what you think..constructive criticism and suggestions are always appreciated!!! Oh and another random thought, I'm writing a Gilmore Girls fic right now too, and I think that Jack and Vaughn's convo after grandparents day might have gotten a little too GG witty banterish, so sorry about that. 


	8. Christmas

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Well I survived my mission trip with only minor injuries, so I'm back now. Thanks for all of the great reviews and suggestions, yeah, William is pretty much the sweetest, most perfect little kid ever lol. here is chapter 8.  
  
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On Christmas morning William sat in bed for a little while before getting up. Sydney had always made a big deal out of Christmas, and as far as William could tell, Vaughn really didn't. Sure, they had a tree and decorated the house, but there were no gingerbread houses, no caroling, nothing that Sydney had done with him. Nonetheless, William got excited and finally left his room.  
  
"Hey" Vaughn said with a smile, looking up from his newspaper and coffee when William walked into the living room "I never thought you would get up"  
  
William smiled with big eyes as he saw the pile of gifts had grown significantly since last night. A toy train ran around the track around the tree with a small tag on it that said 'from santa'. An overflowing stocking was leaning against the fireplace, as well as a large lego set and many wrapped presents under the tree.  
  
"Wow buddy, santa sure was good to you" Vaughn said with a smile  
  
"Dad, I have a present for you" William shouted as he ran off to his room to fetch the gift. A few minutes later he returned with a crudely wrapped package. He handed it proudly to Vaughn "Merry Christmas dad"  
  
Vaughn slowly untied the red ribbon that held the tissue paper together. As the paper fell away he noticed that it was a plate. In the middle was William's handprint and underneath it said 'I love you daddy. Merry Christmas. Love, William'. A small tear escaped from Vaughn's eye when he saw it.  
  
William's lips trembled "do you not like it?" he asked softly  
  
Vaughn looked up "Oh no, no William. I love it. It really is the best present I could ask for" he reassured his son "except for maybe your mom to return" he added softly. William climbed up into his lap and hugged him.  
  
William then went over to the tree and started surveying the presents that had not been unwrapped yet. He picked up one and looked at the card 'William-don't let your dad see you open this. Uncle Eric'. William smiled mischievously and set the gift down. He then picked up a large box "dad, can I open this?"  
  
"Sure" Vaughn said absentmindly, as he was still touched by William's gift to him  
  
William ripped open the paper and found a stack of storybooks inside. As much as William loved stories, he was slightly disappointed by this gift. He opened the first book and a small note fell out. The little boy walked over to Vaughn "Daddy, what does this note say?" he asked quietly, handing the piece of paper to his dad  
  
Vaughn read aloud to William "William- I know these may seem like a boring gift to you, but I means a lot to me to give them to you. These were some of you mother's favorite storybooks when she was your age, and your grandmother and I decided that they should now belong to you. I hope you enjoy them as much as she did, and I only wish she could be here to see you open them. Love, grandpa Jack" Vaughn smiled at his son with tears in his eyes for the second time that morning. Holidays always reminded him of Sydney, and this year, more so than ever.  
  
"Dad, will you read me one of the books?" William asked  
  
"Sure" Vaughn replied, pulling his son onto his lap "The Velveteen Rabbit" he said, starting the story  
  
About ten minutes later, after the story was over, Will hopped out of Vaughn's lap. He surveyed the room "Are we done?" he asked, noticing that most of the presents had been unwrapped already  
  
"Of course not" Vaughn said "You haven't gotten a present from me yet, have you?"  
  
"No" William said "I thought you might have forgotten" he admitted  
  
"I don't think so" Vaughn said with a smile "Come here" William walked over and stood beside Vaughn "Now this may not seem like a very big present, but when you open it, you will get it" he said, pulling an envelope from behind his back and handing it to his son "Merry Christmas buddy" Vaughn said, ruffling William's messy blonde hair  
  
William opened the envelope without making a sound and pulled out two tickets "What do they say?" he asked Vaughn  
  
"These are NBA finals tickets" Vaughn said  
  
William's jaw dropped "No"  
  
"Yes" Vaughn said with a smile, hoping William enjoyed it "You can take anyone you want"  
  
William's eyes widened as he threw himself into Vaughn's arms "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he yelled "I want you to come with me daddy" he said with a smile "This is the best present ever"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
That afternoon William and Vaughn made cookies. They had made some the night before, to leave out for santa clause, but William wanted to make more. These were to be special cookies. They cut them into all different shapes: candy canes, angels, bells, stars, and trees.  
  
William had made quite a mess with all of the brightly colored frosting, but he was finally satisfied with his work "Okay dad, I think I'm done"  
  
Vaughn added a smiley face onto one of the stars and then smiled at William "Me too" he said, stacking the cookies onto the plate "You ready to go?" he asked William  
  
William nodded slowly and took Vaughn's hand as they left the house and got into the car.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Jack Bristow saw no reason to celebrate Christmas this year, so he had volunteered to work today. He did not expect to see Michael Vaughn and his grandson walk into the CIA ops center today, but that is just what he saw.  
  
"Jack" Vaughn said, shaking hands with him "Merry Christmas"  
  
"Merry Christmas Grandpa" William said "Thank you for the books. Dad read one of them to me this morning" he added with a smile  
  
Jack just stared, wondering why they were here "I'm glad you like them William. Next time I am over, I can read some of them to you"  
  
"Okay" William answered with a smile  
  
Vaughn and William started to walk away, but not before Jack could give Vaughn the 'what the hell are you doing?' glare. Vaughn just motioned to William and smiled  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Irina sat in her cell, reading. Holidays really didn't mean much when you were stuck in a CIA cell. She considered going out onto the roof, since it was a fairly nice day, but had decided to read for awhile instead. She was surprised to hear footsteps coming towards her cell, and even more surprised to see Vaughn and William standing there. "Wow" Irina said quietly "I don't know what to say" she paused "Merry Christmas"  
  
"This is William" Vaughn said, noticing that Will had suddenly become very shy "Will" he said, turning to his son "this is Irina Derevko, your grandmother"  
  
"I know" William said quietly "Hi. I made you some cookies" he added, holding up the plate of cookies despite the wall of glass between them  
  
Irina smiled down at the little boy with tears in her eyes "Thank you William. This is the best present I could ask for today." She then turned to Vaughn "Perhaps I should be thanking you. I never thought you would allow him to see me"  
  
Vaughn shifted his weight back and forth between his feet and looked up "I told you I would let him decide. And he wanted to meet you."  
  
"I just assumed that was a promise you would chose not to keep"  
  
"I always keep my promises" Vaughn said "When I was a little boy, my father said the most important thing in life is to keep your word no matter what. That's all I'm trying to do"  
  
"Michael, I am so sorry. I know that you didn't want to do this, but thank you for bringing him here" she said, lowering her voice in hopes that William would not hear her. She then shifted her attention to the little boy standing just a few inches away from her who was still in awe after meeting his grandmother for the first time and surprised to see that she is in a jail cell "Hello William. I have waited so long to meet you. This really isn't the most welcoming place ever, how about we go sit out on the roof for awhile?"  
  
"Okay" William answered  
  
Irina called one of the guards over and had him let her out and then took William's hand. Vaughn was upset but at the same time pleased by this gesture, and made a mental note to kill Irina if she ever did anything to his son.  
  
Up on the roof, normal conversation was still hard to come by, so the three munched on the cookies that William and Vaughn had made "thank you for the cookies William" Irina said with a smile, noticing that the little boy was still fairly intimidated by her  
  
"You're welcome" he answered "can I ask you a question?"  
  
"Of course" Irina said, noticing that this was one person she had to be honest with, no matter what  
  
"Why do you have to live in that little room?" William asked innocently  
  
"Well." She thought for a minute, trying to figure out the best way to explain this to her grandson "I did some very bad things in the past. I worked for some very bad people, and they ordered me to kill people"  
  
William sat there with wide eyes, not knowing what to say  
  
"But I don't do that anymore. I haven't done that for years. In fact, they are going to let me out of here in a few weeks" She finished with a smile  
  
Vaughn's jaw dropped  
  
"I know that doesn't make you very happy Michael, but I really think it will be good. I will be moving in with Jack, which is the highest security they can put me under" she said with a laugh "Hopefully we will find Sydney and I will see a lot more of you three"  
  
A million thoughts ran through Vaughn's head *she's living with Jack? Are they back together? Whose crazy idea was it to let her out in the first place?*  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by William's quiet voice "Grandpa said next time he saw me, he would read some of mommy's old books to me. Will you too?" he asked  
  
"Of course"  
  
"Thank you. I'm glad you're my grandma" he added, giving her a hug  
  
Tears started to form in Irina's eyes "and I am so glad that I finally got to meet my wonderful grandson"  
  
Vaughn noticed Jack standing at the door on top of the roof, witnessing this moment. Finally Jack spoke "I thought I might find you guys up here. I checked the cell but you weren't there, so I figured this would be the place I might find you" he turned to Irina "you met William."  
  
"Yes." She said with a smile "I finally did"  
  
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A/N: so there is chapter 8, I thinking that Sydney might return in the next chapter (but I also thought William would meet Irina about 3 chapters ago) Well he finally did meet her, please review and tell me what you think ~was William TOO sickeningly adorable in this chapter? ~Should Jack and Irina end up together? ~was this chapter totally OOC? Cuz it seemed like it was for some of them  
  
Review, Review, Review! 


	9. Happily Ever After?

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Only two more days until the NBA draft!!! Ahhh everyone watch to see when Nick Collison goes!!! Okay sorry, back on topic, thanks for all of the great reviews!!! I love u guys!  
  
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Vaughn couldn't seem to fall asleep one night in the middle of February. He wasn't quite sure why, but he was restless all night. Maybe it was because today was Friday the thirteenth; maybe it was because tomorrow was Valentine's Day. Either way, he kept tossing and turning. Vaughn crept into William's room to make sure that he was okay. Sure enough, the little boy slept soundly, with his arm around his dog. Vaughn walked quietly back into bed and eventually fell asleep  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
He knew he should have gone to sleep earlier when he heard William walk into his room around 7 the next morning. *Ugh, why do young kids get up so early?* Vaughn thought as he rolled over and saw his son snuggling into bed with him "Hey buddy, aren't you up a little early?"  
  
William started sucking his thumb, a habit Vaughn thought they had gotten rid of a long time ago "I had a bad dream"  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry" Vaughn said, pulling William into his arms "What was it about?" he asked, assuming that his son was having nightmares about something simple, like monsters or sharks  
  
"There was a scary man" William said quietly "he said he killed mommy, and that he was gonna kill me too"  
  
Vaughn stared at William "It was just I dream, I promise I won't let anything happen to you" he said, thinking it might be a possibility that the man William saw in his dream was Sloane "Nothing will happen, it will all be okay soon"  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you really think that they are going to find mommy?" William asked  
  
"They are doing their best, I think that's all we can ask for" Vaughn replied somberly "You want some breakfast?"  
  
"Sure" William answered  
  
Vaughn made pancakes, and even added heart shaped red hots on top, despite the fact that Valentine's Day was one holiday that he had ignored since splitting with Sydney. William noticed this little touch "At preschool we ate candy hearts"  
  
"That's nice" Vaughn said, looking up with a smile "Did your class exchange Valentines?" he asked, hoping that he hadn't forgotten to buy some  
  
"Nope" William paused "I got one though"  
  
"Oh. From whom?" Vaughn asked  
  
"Katelyn" William said making a face  
  
"What? She likes you?" Will nodded "You don't like her?"  
  
"She has cooties"  
  
Vaughn smiled "I'll ask you what you think about her in 10 years"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Saturday hockey had become a weekly thing for William and Vaughn. Vaughn had tried to talk his son into joining a peewee hockey team, even though most of the kids on the teams were twice William's age. This Saturday seemed no different. After breakfast, Vaughn cleaned up, grabbed his stick and skates, and told William to do the same. On the way to the rink, he called Weiss  
  
"Weiss" Eric said, answering the phone  
  
"Hey, it's Michael, William and I are on the was to the rink for some practice, wanna join us?" Vaughn asked  
  
"Sorry man, gotta work" Weiss replied  
  
"On Valentine's day? Shouldn't you be spending the day with Tarra?" Vaughn asked, mentioning Eric's first serious girlfriend in years  
  
"She's in New York for work, so I offered to work too"  
  
"Oh, okay, well we will probably be playing all day, so call me if you want to join us"  
  
"Sure thing, bye"  
  
"Uncle Eric's not coming?" William asked from the backseat  
  
"Nope, he has to work" Vaughn paused "since when do you call him Uncle Eric?"  
  
"Since he told me to"  
  
Vaughn laughed at the thought of Eric telling William to call him that  
  
Ten minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of the rink. Just as Vaughn removed the keys, his cell phone rang. "Vaughn"  
  
"Hey man"  
  
Vaughn immediately recognized the voice of his best friend "Hey 'Uncle Eric'" Vaughn teased "Did you decide that skating with us would be much more exciting than sitting around with Kendall all day?"  
  
"You need to get to the ops center as soon as you can. You will not believe who just walked in the front doors"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vaughn pulled William behind him as he ran into the ops center "Where is she?" he asked Weiss as soon as he saw him  
  
"What makes you think it's her?" Weiss asked  
  
"That's not funny, where is she?"  
  
"Kendall and Jack are meeting with her and hoping to get some leads on Sloane. I dunno if they will let you see her" Eric said, being serious again  
  
William pulled on the leg of Vaughn's pants "Mommy?" he asked quietly  
  
"Yeah buddy, mommy's back" Vaughn answered "Eric, go tell them that we're here. Or at least that William is here"  
  
Weiss entered the room slowly and got glances from both of the older men "Syd, Mike and William are here.."  
  
Sydney was out of the room before he could finish. The second she saw William her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Mommy!" William yelled as he ran across the room into her arms "Mommy I missed you so much" He said through tears as he hugged her tightly  
  
"Oh, I missed you so much too sweetie. I love you so much. I'm so glad I'm back" Sydney said  
  
"Are you okay?" William asked, clearly concerned about his mother  
  
"I'm fine now sweetie, I'm fine now" Sydney answered, walking over to where Vaughn stood. She wrapped her arms tightly around him "Thank you so, so much Vaughn" She pulled away and wiped a few stray tears from her face "For everything. Really"  
  
"Syd.." Vaughn said quietly "Syd, can I have another chance?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I have another chance to be the father you wanted me to be to William in the first place? Please? When you first disappeared, I had no idea how I was gonna do it, or what I was gonna do, but I learned. William taught me so much. I can't give him up now"  
  
"Of course you can. If you promise you will never let him down"  
  
"I swear Syd, I'll try not to"  
  
"Good" Sydney said, wiping away a few tears. She took William's small hand in hers "Dad? We are going to go home. I'll be back tomorrow" She said, walking over and hugging Jack once more  
  
"Sydney?"  
  
"Yes dad?"  
  
"You might want to go see your mother. She has been very worried about you" Jack said  
  
Sydney look shocked but agreed "I'll stop by tomorrow"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vaughn insisted that Sydney spend the night at his house since virtually all of William's things we at his place. Once William was sound asleep and had been kissed goodnight and tucked in by both of his parents for the first time in over two years, Vaughn asked Sydney to come sit beside him on the couch "So what happened? Sloane? Sark? Obviously your mother wasn't involved."  
  
"Both" Sydney said quietly "more of this Rambaldi crap. They needed me to 'fulfill the prophecy'." Sydney paused and smiled a little bit "But I think that Sloane might be losing his touch in torturing prisoners in his old age. They did tests on me. I faked the results. Eventually they were stupid enough to leave me alone one night, so I walked out of there"  
  
"So they could be looking for you right now?" Vaughn asked  
  
"Could be" Sydney replied nonchalantly  
  
"And you are not at all worried about that?"  
  
"Nope. Sloane knows that I may not work for the CIA anymore, but I still have some very close connections there who would kill him if he came near me again." She paused "or at least seriously kick his ass"  
  
"So let me get this straight, you single handedly escaped from one of the world's most notorious criminal masterminds; without a scratch on you, and you are not at all worried?" Vaughn asked, confused by Sydney's sudden change of attitude  
  
"Nope. Worrying gets you nowhere" She smiled, leaned over and kissed Vaughn softly "You taught me that, remember?"  
  
Wow. That was unexpected. "Sydney Bristow, you surprise me every day." Vaughn paused and looked her in the eye "Syd, you did an amazing job with William. He's the sweetest kid I have ever met"  
  
"Ya know Michael Vaughn, part of that might just be his good genes"  
  
Vaughn took Sydney's hand and spoke "Syd.do you think we could try again? For William?"  
  
Sydney thought for a minute and then replied "Yeah, it never hurts to try" She leaned over and kissed him again "You know, I never stopped loving you"  
  
"Neither did I" Vaughn said quietly "neither did I"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
A few weeks later, Sydney, Vaughn, and William sat on a bench in the park. Despite the fact that it was only early march, it was quite warm in LA and they had gotten ice cream earlier.  
  
"William, you're dripping" Sydney warned and she saw a large drop of chocolate ice cream drip down the cone containing William's ice cream and land on his white shirt  
  
"That." Vaughn said, pointing with is spoon "is why you never buy white clothing for children under the age of 8"  
  
Sydney rolled her eyes "Are you volunteering to wash all of it?" she teased. Sydney sat back down next to Vaughn and he draped his arm around her shoulder. William had wandered a few feet away to pet a friendly dog that had come by licking up his drips of ice cream.  
  
"You did good" Vaughn said, smiling at William  
  
"You didn't do such a bad job yourself" Sydney said with a smile. They sat and watched their son for a few moments.  
  
Vaughn felt his fingers clasp around a small box that had been in his pocket for the last several days. His heart started beating faster. "Syd."  
  
"Hmm?" she said, still preoccupied by William  
  
"I should have done this a long time ago" Vaughn got down and pulled out the box "Will you marry me?" he asked, his voice shaking  
  
Sydney stared a the ring "Oh my god.." she practically whispered "Of course" she said  
  
Vaughn sighed in relief. He slipped the ring onto her finger "Syd, I love you so much. I just figured I should probably make it official"  
  
She leaned down and kissed him, long and hard "I love you too Michael, I love you too"  
  
William, standing back had just witnessed the whole thing "Ewww" he said, while they kissed, but then ran up and hugged both of his parents "I love you guys" he said shyly and then kissed both of them on the cheek  
  
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A/N: Soooo..is it what you expected? What you wanted? Completely horrible? There will be one more chapter I decided, and it will be set a year or two in the future, mostly fluff, so please review and tell me what you thought 


	10. Epilogue

Disclaimer~ If I owned Alias, I would have a car whose windows go all the way down and doesn't randomly have the windshield wipers start working when you turn left  
  
Summary~ Future Fic; When Sydney disappears, Vaughn is determined to find her, for his sake and their son's  
  
A/N: Okay, so this is the final chapter, it is gonna be pure fluff, so if your not a fluff fan, I wouldn't read it (hahaha and you thought it couldn't get any fluffier than the last chapter!) Sorry the last chapter sucked so much. I can kinda write Vaughn by himself, and I can kinda write Sydney by herself, but I really suck at writing them together. Thank you all so much for all of the great reviews and for making my first Alias fic somewhat of a success. I am starting a new fic that will be set a few years after "the telling", and hopefully I will be able to start it before I leave for Connecticut in two weeks. Thanks again for the reviews. It wouldn't hurt to review this chappy just for kicks..  
  
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Epilogue-Finding her  
  
Two years later  
  
Irina sat in her daughter's living room, cradling her six month old granddaughter in her arms "Oh, you are such a beautiful girl Emily" she cooed at little girl who was amusing herself with a stuffed rabbit. She saw William standing nearby, looking left out "And you are such a handsome little boy" Irina said with a laugh, pulling him towards her and kissing the young boy on the cheek.  
  
William made a face "Ewww. Yuck!" He said, wiping the kiss off  
  
"William, do not be rude to your grandmother" Sydney warned, even though William had done the same thing to her several times this week  
  
"It's fine Sydney" Irina said  
  
"Yes" Jack agreed "I remember you doing very similar things when you were his age"  
  
"I did not" Sydney said  
  
"I specifically remember you not allowing me to hug you goodbye on the first day of kindergarten" Jack replied  
  
"Oh. Ouch" Vaughn said with a laugh  
  
Sydney punched him in the arm "I'm your wife. He's your father in law. Wouldn't it make sense to agree with me?"  
  
"Well, considering he's sort of my boss." Sydney shot him a look "Okay, I'm sure you were never a bad kid.."  
  
He was cut off by Emily's screams after she dropped her toy. Vaughn picked it up and took the screaming child from Irina's arms "Oh, here sweetie. It's okay, daddy's got your toy. Shhhh quite down Emmy, shhh, it's okay" he murmured to her as she eventually quieted down.  
  
"It's about her bedtime" Sydney said "Here, I'll take her up"  
  
"Nope, I'll do it" Vaughn said with a smile "You stay here and catch up with your parents, I'll take her up"  
  
"Thanks sweetie" Sydney said with a smile and softly kissed him "I'll be up in a bit" she added  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Vaughn walked upstairs into his daughter's "pink palace" and Sydney called it, changed her diaper and put a nightgown covered in little yellow ducks on her. When she started fussing again, Vaughn held her again his shoulder, sunk down into the fluffy rocking chair, and began rocking slowly "Shhh, that's right Emmy bear, shh time for bed" he said quietly as his tiny daughter settled against his shoulder and began sucking her thumb silently.  
  
Vaughn continued rocking as his daughter began to doze off. He never thought his life would end up like this. Never. He always assumed it would be the same twisted CIA life his father had lived. And it had been until a little over a year ago, when they had found out about Emily, and he finally decided to return to the low key desk work he had done with the CIA before he met Sydney. Now his life was just so...normal. They were Sydney and Michael Vaughn, William and Emily's parents. They didn't have to lie anymore, they didn't need to perform background checks on all of the neighbors (of course Vaughn still did.but it wasn't necessary). He took his daughter off of his shoulder and cradled her in his arms. Vaughn smiled down at the tiny creature, who was the splitting image of her mother.  
  
Sydney tapped very softly on the doorframe, as not to wake the sleeping beauty. "Hey" she whispered "I finally got rid of my parents" she added with a smile  
  
"You really enjoyed having them here, didn't you?" Vaughn asked, seeing the twinkle in Sydney's eyes  
  
"Yeah" she paused "I don't know, tonight just seemed so normal. The parents come over to visit the daughter, son in law, and grandchildren. They bring gifts to spoil the kids."  
  
"Oh no, did they bring another thing for Will?"  
  
Sydney nodded "The newest NBA all star video game" she said, making a face "We are never going to be able to get him away from it" she added, settling lightly on Vaughn's free knee  
  
He started scratching her back softly "I like it" he said with a smile "Ya know, being normal"  
  
Sydney turned around and looked into his sparkling green eyes "I thought that you would be the last person on earth to like being normal" she paused and then smiled "except maybe me, or my parents. But I'm pretty sure we all like it" she added, kissing Vaughn softly and taking Emily out of his arms.  
  
"Dad!" William called from downstairs  
  
Vaughn jumped up and rushed to the top of the stairs "William! Be quiet! I just got your sister to go to sleep"  
  
"Okay" William said quietly "But the game starts soon so you better hurry up"  
  
"Come up here and put your pajamas on before we watch the game" Vaughn said  
  
"Fine" William replied as he hurried up the stairs  
  
Vaughn walked back into Em's room, where Sydney sat in the rocker with her, humming softly. Vaughn grinned "Whatcha doing?" he asked Sydney  
  
"Oh, just watching her. She sleeps so peacefully"  
  
"Yeah" Vaughn agreed, and sat for a few moments just watching Emily sleep before William bounded into the room in his pajamas  
  
When the little boy saw his sister sleeping he started tiptoeing over to the rocker. He leaned down and kissed his sister on the forehead "G'nite Emmy" he whispered, and then leaned over her to kiss Sydney's cheek "Nite mommy. I love you" he said and then left the room, pretending to go back to his room even though Sydney could see the shadow sneak downstairs.  
  
"He thinks I don't know he's going to be downstairs watching basketball with you, doesn't he?"  
  
"Yep" Vaughn said "Well, the game calls" he said, picking up his daughter and kissing the top of her head "Goodnight sweetie. Daddy loves you" he whispered into her tiny ear.  
  
He then kissed Sydney's lips softly "Nite. I love you Syd, always and forever, no matter what, even if we do become painfully normal" he said, stealing another kiss  
  
"Same to you Michael Vaughn, same to you"  
  
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A/N: Okay, so it's all over now :o( was that another painfully lame chapter, do I really suck at writing fluff? As always, review 


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